On Wed, Mar 12, 2025 at 7:55 PM secretsnail9 via agora-business <
[email protected]> wrote:
> I intend, with 2 Agoran Consent, to initiate a sanctioned tournament with
> the following set of Regulations:
>
> {{{
> Subgame Idea Tournament Regulations
> ------------------------------------------------------
> Regulation 1 (Suggesting Pre-Proposals):
> {
>
> A Pre-Proposal is a type of entity consisting of a body of text and other
> attributes. A player CAN suggest a Pre-Proposal by announcement, specifying
> its text and an associated title.
>
> When a Pre-Proposal is suggested, the player that suggested it becomes one
> of the authors of that Pre-Proposal. An author of a Pre-Proposal can make
> another player become an author of that Pre-Proposal by announcement.
>
> }
>
>
> Regulation 2 (Role of the Gamemaster):
> {
>
> Snail is the Gamemaster for this tournament, and shall publish a list of
> all Pre-Proposals and their authors each week, though e may leave out
> Pre-Proposals made obsolete by newer versions of themselves. The Gamemaster
> can amend these regulations with 2 Agoran Consent. Any player can amend
> these regulations with 3 Agoran Consent. The Gamemaster shall resolve any
> ambiguities in these regulations in the direction of properly rewarding any
> players that substantially contributed to the creation of future subgames.
>
> }
>
> Regulation 3 (Winning the Tournament):
> {
>
> A Pre-Proposal can be Finalized with 3 Agoran Consent.
>
> When the tournament concludes, each author of a Finalized Pre-Proposal wins
> the tournament.
>
> The tournament can be concluded with 3 Agoran Consent, and SHOULD be
> concluded after two Pre-Proposals have been Finalized unless Pre-Proposals
> are still being actively created.
>
> Finalized Pre-Proposals SHOULD be submitted as proposals when appropriate.
>
> }
>
> Regulation 4 (General Guidelines):
> {
> This regulation only contains general guidelines that SHOULD be followed
> during the course of this tournament.
>
> Pre-Proposals should be suggested with the input of multiple players and
> attempt to embody the Agoran Subgame Principles (listed below). Heavy
> iteration is encouraged, and all players should voice their likes and
> dislikes of certain mechanics and gameplay loops in each Pre-Proposal.
>
> Finalizing should be attempted on any Pre-Proposal that lacks criticism for
> a week. Such criticism should focus on gameplay effects rather than
> specific wording, as proofreading can be done at the conclusion of the
> tournament. The tournament is a place for brainstorming a large amount of
> varying ideas and cutting away at anything that wouldn't work in service of
> finding viable ideas that also interest the Agoran population.
>
> Agoran Subgame Principles (including the work of ais523):
>
> * Nomic is a game of changing rules at its core. Subgames should include
> the proposal system and potential rule changes in their gameplay loop.
>
> * A subgame should be intuitive for new players to understand. Getting
> bogged down by complicated rules detracts from the experience. Don't forget
> this principle when it comes time to finalize wording.
>
> * Have a hook! Some kind of game, genre, or theme for the subgame to build
> around as it changes. There should be clear places to add on but no
> indication of exactly what should be added. Let players direct their
> creativity into the subgame.
>
> * A subgame shouldn't be too fast or too slow. The generally accepted
> agoran participation minimum is once a week to keep up with everything.
> This isn't to say gameplay must be limited to once a week or can't be less
> frequent, but it is a good starting point to base any time constraints on.
>
> * Utilize existing mechanics (Radiance, Stamps, Tabled Actions, the
> boulder.) Having the subgame be interconnected with the rest of the rules
> gives players more reasons to care about it.
>
> * A subgame should be straightforward for an officer to track. The ideal
> amount of officer work is zero, but if a subgame is poorly optimized, an
> officer might have to take an hour to make a report. Consider example
> gameplay for officer workflow, and include intuitive mechanics that only
> need a few things to be tracked.
>
> * Avoid "grindy" subgames. Having to take an action every week can cause
> players that miss a week to fall behind and lose interest. New players
> should be able to engage with subgame without feeling hopeless.
>
> * Start simple. The subgame can get more complex as rules are added and
> dominant strategies are discovered and changed. Making a complicated
> subgame immediately will make it harder for players to engage. Lean on
> easily understood gameplay loops and existing mechanics if you must include
> something complex. The average agoran should be able to grasp the subgame
> within a few minutes of reading the rules.
>
> * Aim for emergent gameplay. If the optimal move is easy to calculate,
> there's not much point in playing a game. The uncertainty of proposals in
> your subgame can help remedy this.
>
> * See if you can include burst-style gameplay in your subgame. Planning out
> the perfect move and then executing it is a tried and true Agoran gameplay
> loop. Give players things to plan for and think about in advance, and allow
> for explosive combos.
>
> * Consider if you want the subgame to be competitive or not. Losing
> progress on a win has to feel fair. Determine how often a player can win
> your subgame. If wins happen more than once a quarter it may make wins less
> valuable. Strike a balance that makes the win hard, but achievable by
> perhaps a few players. Don't leave out players that are behind in a
> subgame.
>
> * Make your subgame accessible for players that have to become inactive, or
> can't be available certain days. If players have to miss important events,
> they should be able to play despite that. Avoid timing scams.
>
> * Think outside the box! Don't be afraid try something that wouldn't fit in
> the current Agoran framework. It's changed before, after all. Emphasize
> creativity, originality, and fun above all else! We'll find a way to
> implement it if players want it.
>
>
> Players are encouraged to form committees for coming up with great ideas in
> order to win the tournament. Group chats for quick brainstorming and
> rapid-fire ideas are recommended.
> }
> }}}
>
> --
> snail
> Steampunk Hat
>
Having received 1 support from Mischief and no objections, I do so.
--
snail
